Dark Lords: War of the Rings
by Havelock Vetinari
Summary: As the Shadow covers Middle-Earth, the gaze of the Eye turns to the stars.  A new power is rising, and it will take the full might of the Sith to defend the Empire.  Under Hiatus, unfortunately.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so I was a day late. You have my apologies. But I will now be applying myself to this story whenever possible, which is where the new portion of the title came from.

**Introduction.**

"_The end will not be long" said the king. "But I will not end here, taken like an old badger in a trap. Snowmane and Hasufel and the horses of my guard are in the inner court. When dawn comes, I will bid men sound Helm's horn, and I shall ride forth. Will you ride with me then, son of Arathorn? Maybe we shall cleave a road, or make such an end as will be worth a song—if any be left to sing of us herafter."_

"_I will ride with you." said Aragorn._

_Taking his leave, he returned to the walls, and passed round all their circuit, enheartening the men, and lending aid whenever the assault became too much. Legolas went with him. Blasts of fire, leaped up from below, shaking the stones. Grappling-hooks were hurled, and ladders raised. Again and again the Uruk-Hai gained the summit of the outer wall, and again the defenders cast them down._

_There was a roar, and a mighty blast of fire. Archway of the gate crumbled in smoke and dust. The barricade was scattered as if by a thunderbolt. Aragorn ran to the king's tower._

_But even as the gate fell and the Uruk-Hai around it swarmed in, the sound of the Great Horn rang out._

_And the guard and the King rode out to meet the horde._

_And the sound of the Horn rebounded across the gorge, but the echoes did not die. More horns picked up the note, and carried it onwards._

_Forward, they went, a final stand against the forces of the Orthanc. And Aragorn looked to the East, and beheld a thousand men on foot, sounding the return horns, with Eomir at their head and the Mithrandir beside him. The light of the dawn, combined with the force of Mithrandir's magic startled the Uruk, and their pikes failed them, and the thousand on foot and the riders from the Deep swept through the Uruk horde like grass in a wind._

In another universe, the Uruk then broke ranks, fleeing for the safety of the forest, a forest from Fanghorn that provided no safety for man or orc under Saruman's banner.

For the purpose of this story, they held their ground. Soon, they even made a comeback, using the Fires of the Orthanc to create confusion amongst the Rohirrim while advancing, forcing the footmen to retreat. They fled with the riders, knowing that the women and children had already left the fortress through the mountain pass.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two, to reward those of you with any interest in this story for your patience.

Eowyn felt a stab of guilt as she ordered the older children to close the entrance. Gimli would be very, very angry at what she was having to do to the Glittering caves. Still, she didn't have much choice. She could hear the Uruks further down the tunnels.

* * *

"Hurry up!" she shouted. "We need to be at the Alorlow rivers by tomorrow!".

* * *

Saruman was understandably annoyed. The ent attack had completely destroyed his Uruk-Hai production facilities, and the flood they had created was going to take months to drain out. He did realize that it was partially his fault-he had cut down too many trees. He should have expected a retaliation. Still, they couldn't breach the Orthanc itself, and his army had succeeded in the assault on Helm's deep, and would be returning any day now, with his new siege weapons. (In the book, the Uruk-hai had cannons, not just bombs.)Even an ent couldn't take a direct hit from that. It was just a matter of time. Meanwhile, the trees were running out. Fortunately, before the attack, the orcs had discovered a flammable stone that burned more slowly than the powder, deep below his tower. It would only take a few weeks to dig the mud out of the pits again, and resume the creation of his army, and with no need for those damned trees.

Deep within the bowels of Bara-Dur, Sauron... existed. He had no physical form, at least for now. He was a being of pure thought, moving his armies like chess pieces around middle earth. His eye, lidless, unblinking, searched Middle-Earth for things that might have a bearing on his campaign against Gondor. His thoughts turned to Saruman. The Wizard of Many Colours had become far too much of a threat to continue. He might soon have thoughts of becoming more than the simple puppet he was. And with that exploding powder, he may even become more than a simple annoyance. The training of the Wargs, the creating of a new, better breed of Orcs from Men... _'Yes,'_ thought Sauron. _'I do know his weakpoint, his greed for power. It is how he became my servant to begin with. He hungers for a ring of power. Perhaps I shall give him one.' _With another thought, he sent the Witch King to Mount Doom. He had enslaved the greatest of the kings of men, and Saruman had already fallen from grace. How well could an Istari serve amongst his wraiths?

Alright, that's it for today. Star Wars will happen, I promise, but I'm afraid it won't be for a while. I've still got to work on the situation here. Before the Empire invades and the Rebellion picks up a whole lot of refugees, I want to have the 'good guys' on their last legs. I know my stuff is a bit short, but I'm working on it.


End file.
